The Delivery
by cyndaquil
Summary: Ash and Hikari show Brock where babies really come from.  It's not as dirty as it sounds.
1. The Birds and the Beedril

I do not own pokemon. Nor will I profit from use of pokemon characters.

Prologue

Sirens blared. He could hear the barking of the houndour and the rhythmic thumping noise of their paws against the ground. Butch tripped on a patch of grass, shifting his weight at the last moment to avoid damaging his precious charge. After hitting the ground, Butch immediately inspected the egg. Thankfully it was undamaged. His ankle on the other hand was sprained. The howling grew closer, and he knew he was not going to escape.

Butch reached into his pocket and pulled out a pokeball. "Pelipper I choose you" he screamed. Before him appeared a moderate sized bird with a huge bill. The beak was a container intended to carry food large distances during migration.

Butch tried to get up, feeling a stabbing pain in his leg as he did. Then he bid Pelipper to come closer. The Team Rocket member placed the egg in the Pelipper's beak. "Pelipper," he commanded, "take this egg to Cassidy in Celadon city. Don't let any harm come to it." Pelipper hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to leave its master. Suddenly Butch felt a gust of wind as the pokemon took off in the direction of Celedon.

Butch tried his best to keep moving but it was hopeless. He was soon captured.

Chapter 1: Birds and Bees

"I'm not coming out." Hikari announced.

"Fine, we'll leave you here." Ash responded.

Hikari fumed at Ash's apathetic attitude.

Outside she could here the noises of Ash and Brock dismantling their campsite. She knew they wouldn't really leave her. After all Hikari was holed up inside the groups only tent and it was supposed to rain tomorrow.

"I said I'm not coming out." Hikari repeated.

This time there was no response.

"I really mean it." Hikari assured.

Still there was no response.

"Are you listening to me?" She demanded.

After about ten minutes Hikari zipped up the entrance to her tent and peeked outside.

"Hello."

At that moment Ash and Brock were making their way up a grassy hill.

"Ash," asked Brock, "Is it really okay to just leave Hikari."

Ash Ketchum sighed. He hated to do this. However Hikari needed it. Hikari had just left home on her pokemon journey a little over a month ago. Leaving the nest is frightening. Ash knew from experience. It's quite common for new trainers to run back home soon after they first set out. Some try again when they're ready. Far too many just give up. Hikari's adjustment was much harder then she let on.

Brock was a breeder, in trade and by nature. His instinct was to coddle her, to almost play the role of a surrogate mother.

Ash knew in his heart that what Hikari really needs is to see how strong she is. She needs to know that she is strong enough to face the world on her own.

"Look Brock," said Ash, "Hikari knows we're headed south to Celadon. We'll meet her there. We can't just stop our training and journeying every time Hikari has a bad hair day."

"But Ash, Hikari didn't say it was a bad hair day. She said she was having feminine problems."

Ash was confused. "Yeah but isn't that like girl talk for bad hair day. I mean what else could it be."

Brock looked around to make sure no one was watching then whispered something in Ash's ear.

Hikari was just finished packing the tent and ready to head south when she heard Ash's horrible scream in the distance.

Fearing the worst (and suspecting team rocket) she dropped the tent and rushed forward. Moving as fast as her legs would carry her.

Meanwhile, Ash and Brock Rushed as fast as they could back towards her.

"Ash," yelled Brock, "why are we running?"

"What do you mean why? Hikari's hurt and we abandoned her."

They ran through the mountain path, desperately calling each others names. Eventually they met.

Ash was filled with relief. He alternated between begging for forgiveness and asking if she was okay. Hikari assured him she was. Then Ash scolded her for running in her condition. He bent downwards to look at her legs. Hikari turned beet red and held her skirt down. "What are you doing she demanded."

"I just want to see if your bandages held."

"What Bandages?"

"There are no hospitals for miles." Ash turned to Brock. "Start a fire. We might have to cauterize the wound."

Ash grabbed the bottom of Hikari's dress and she gave him a huge slap on the face.

In the hours that followed Ash and Hikari wouldn't speak to one another. Brock felt somewhat responsible, particularly because Hikari really was just having a bad hair day. It turned out that she didn't know what real feminine problems were either. Brock thought of explaining it to her, but doubted that these were the correct circumstances.

To make matters worse, it started to rain. The waterproof tent that Hikari dropped when running towards Ash could not be found.

Eventually they found a small cave. Brock started a fire.

At that moment Pelipper was flying over the hills to Celedon. Her muscles strained. The pain grew with each wing beat. She was a tropical pokemon, native to the warmer Hoen region. The wind was against her and her wings were so waterlogged it was a miracle she could still fly. What's worse, even her bill was cold. If she didn't warm the egg soon it could die. Her senses, far more acute than humans, smelled fire in a cave below. Fire meant humans. Many humans knew how to care for eggs, and even if they didn't the fire could warm the egg. She was supposed to go straight to Celedon. The bird agonized over whether it was okay to go down and warm its wings. A wave of dizziness fell over the pokemon and it almost fainted. At that point it was decided, she could not risk damaging the egg.

Ash and Hikari both sat on a log, blushing, with their backs turned to one another. Ash was too ashamed to face her. Hikari was too embarrassed to face him.

Ash concluded that Brock must have been making up that stuff about feminine problems. It was just too weird to be true. Girls were weird enough without that nonsense.

Both of them were thinking the same thing, that each would never understand the other.

Hikari knew it was perverted for boys to look up a girl's skirt, but she decided that Ash must have just been worried about her. This was all Brocks fault after all. He told Ash something weird and Ash freaked out. She should just get mad at Brock. That would cut all this awkwardness with Ash. Still, blaming Brock was like biting that hand that feeds her (literally).

Hikari shivered, and her teeth chattered. She had the most petite body of the three and was affected more by the cold. She moved closer to the fire and furiously rubbed her hands together, trying to warm them.

Ash took off his jacket and placed it gently over hikari's shoulders. "Rub your sides," he said, "that way you'll warm your hands and your chest at once." Hikari did as directed.

"Ash, I'm sorry about earlier. About acting spoiled this morning, loosing the tent, and slapping you when you were just worried about me."

"That's okay," said Ash. "I'm sorry I tried to look up your skirt."

"You said you thought I was hurt. Why did you think that?"

Ash blushed. "Well Brock wanted us to turn back for you, and he told me this story. I guess he was just playing a trick on me."

Ash whispered the story into Hikari's ear just as Brock had told it.

"Gross! Leave it to a boy to come up with something weird like that."

Ash laughed a little at her reaction. He tried to hold back, but then Hikari laughed with him. Soon they let go, and were both laughing hysterically.

"Wait," Brock interjected. "That story was true."

They looked at the serious expression on Brocks face and laughed even louder.

"It's true guys."

They kept laughing.

"Okay," said Brock, "If you don't believe me then where do you think babies come from."

"Pelippers," they both answered in unison. They looked at each other surprised at how synchronized their answer was. "My mom told me…" Ash and Hikari looked each other in the eye; they couldn't believe they were both saying the same thing once again. Ash gestured to let Hikari finish what they were saying.

"When a boy and a girl really like one another, they pray together and a Pelipper comes to them with a baby in its bill."

"Heh," Brock chided. "Believing that shows what children you two are."

At that moment a Pelipper flew into the cave and began warming itself by the fire. Ash and Hikari turned white. Brocks jaw dropped.

For several moments everyone stood their staring at the creature like it was a deoxys from outer space. Finally Hikari put some pokemon food in her hand and offered it to the creature. The Pelipper opened its large mouth to reveal a giant egg inside. Again everyone jumped back in surprise.

Gently Ash picked up the egg and cradled it. Hikari placed the food into the pokemon's mouth. The Pelipper chewed, swallowed, made a content noise then dropped down to take a nap.

Brock watched closely. As a breeder he knew it was impossible to identify and distinguish most pokemon eggs beyond type. However he could at least tell that this egg did not come from any bird pokemon. What was the Pelipper doing with it?

Hikari regarded the egg for a few seconds. She stared, and stared. Then a grin formed on her face. Opening her arms, she embraced both the egg and the boy who was holding it. Ash got over his initial shock and smiled down contently in response.

Brock started bashing his head against the wall.

The next morning Brock awoke to the smell of Hikari cooking breakfast. She never cooks. What's stranger she was spoon feeding her food to Ash while cradling the egg in her arms.

"Remember darling, we don't know when the little one is going to hatch, so we need to get some diapers, blankets and formula ready."

"Of course Honey. Hey, I've been thinking. Maybe when we're done in sinnou I'll take that job as a frontier brain. Then I can really provide you and the baby with nice things."

Hikari smiled and gave Ash an Eskimo kiss. Brock gagged and went back to sleep.

End of Chapter

Notes: I know it's odd that I used the American names for everyone but Hikari, still I just can't get used to calling her Dawn.

Hope you like it and please review.


	2. Mothers Miltank

Chapter 2: Nursing

Jesse slouched in her booth. She wore her usual white halter top with the red Team Rocket R in the center, black gloves and a short white mini skirt. The official outfit of a known crime syndicate.

Across from her was a woman dressed in a black trench coat, sun glasses, and a fedora. Wearing this outfit on a sunny day attracted far more attention than Jesse's attire. She attracted so many suspicious glances that the usually shameless Jesse was becoming self conscious.

Of course this didn't stop her from pigging out on practically every item of the diners menu. It was rare for her to be treated to lunch. For the last month Jesse had been living on rice crackers and stolen tap water. She often cried poverty, though in reality most of her money went into the team's giant mecha fund.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself Jesse darling," said the woman. "Of course I'm sure you can't afford to eat like this very often."

"Yes. I rather am enjoying this. Of course too many meals like this would make it impossible to stay thin," she added with fake disinterest. "Oh but here I am gushing over one meal when you must eat like this all the time."

When Jesse was sufficiently gorged her companion felt it was time to talk business.

"Butch was captured two nights ago at Professor Rowan's lab," said the woman.

"Oh my," said Jesse with mock concern. "This must be quite distressing dear. After all, what happens to your team-mates reflects on the whole team."

Cassidy sneered.

"Anyway, before he got caught he sent what he was stealing to me via Pelliper express. But the package never arrived." 

"My, oh my," chided Jesse. "A Pelliper getting lost is unheard of. Why if I were the boss, I might be inclined to think you were holding out on me."

BLAM 

Cassidy slammed her coffee mug on the table. She then suppressed a growl and forced herself to calm down.

"Anyway, the boss wants all team rocket members to be on the lookout for a Pelliper with an egg. You and James are the only other team rocket members in Sinnou."

"Really he's going to all this trouble for one egg. It must be a rare egg to say the least. I bet there's a big reward in store for whoever finds in."

Cassidy bit her lip and pretended to act Sybille until the bill came, by which time Jesse was long gone.

Annoying Cassidy was fun, but Jesse really had no idea how to find that egg. She would have to talk it over with James and Meowth.

Across town, Pelliper awoke. The down of her feathers felt warm. She lifted her wings and tried to stretch them out. They were stiff, but not sore. The drowsy pokemon recognized this feeling. It felt like human medicines to help relax her strained muscles. Pelliper knew from experience that she would not be able to fly until the medicines wear off. That seemed okay. She was still so tired anyway. She laid her head down, purred, moving her tongue around the edges of her bill. Then she noticed the egg was gone.

Immediately Pelliper leapt upward and forced its wings to flap. Its flying was unsteady and she slammed repeatedly against the glass walls of the small sterile room.

Hearing the commotion a Bellsprout and Nurse Joy rushed into the room.

In Pelliper's desperation to carry out its mission it seemed she was likely to hurt herself. For the pokemons own sake, and with no concern for her own safety, Nurse Joy Grabbed Pelliper in mid flight, and held it close to Bellsprout. Bellsprout fired its sleep powder at the agitated pokemon.

Pelliper struggled for a few seconds more before loosing consciousness.

Nurse Joy placed the pokemon gently on a bed and breathed a sigh of relief.

With the greatest of care she rubbed her fingers along the wings of the Pelliper. The wing was not broken but badly bruised. It seemed she couldn't release the pokemon as early as she predicted. Joy briefly wondered if the kids who dropped off Pelliper would be willing to wait. They had said that none of them were the bird pokemons trainer. She was probably worried for nothing. Pelliper seemed to be eager to go somewhere, and Pellipers have excellent homing instincts. Nurse Joy just hoped she wouldn't need to keep the pokemon sedated until it is entirely healed.

At that moment, Ash, Brock, and Hikari were passing by the local pokemart department store. Hikari seemed determined to waste money on diapers and formula.

Brock was eyeing a poster for pokemon egg ultrasounds. It looked expensive but Brock had a strong urge to convince Hikari and Ash that humans don't hatch from eggs.

"Hey Ash," Hikari chimed, "I'm going to need to pick up some new bras."

"Why would you need those?" Ash asked.

She shot Ash an angry glare.

"Can't you tell? My boobs are getting bigger."

Ash couldn't tell at all, but he claimed he could. Ash Ketchum briefly remembered once telling a certain Misty Waterflower she was flat as a brick. The trauma which followed that seemingly harmless comment still made him shudder. Hikari actually did have a fair sized bosom for her age, but they didn't seem any larger than normal.

Hikari crossed her arms and turned up her nose with pride. "My breasts are filling up with milk. Soon I'll be ready to feed our baby."

Brock turned his head to join the conversation. "You know about breast feeding."

"What do you think I am, a child?"

As they moved onward Hikari began to feel insecure. She had felt fairly confident when boasting to the boys. Now she wondered if her breasts really were growing, and more importantly would they grow enough. Her mother was quite large. Hikari likely had a great deal of growth left in her. Still that would take years. Her baby could hatch any time now. She had to be ready.

As they passed through pharmaceuticals a product caught her eye. She took it down from the shelf and read the directions.

Always protective of others, Brock snatched the product from her hand and told her she was too young to use pregnancy aids. Brock neglected to mention that she wasn't pregnant. He was getting sick of repeating that argument.

"I was just reading the box."

He put it back on the shelf and they moved on.

Hikari paused, stifling her tears "Brock," she said with genuine fear in her voice. "What if I can't feed the baby?"

Brock tried to assure her that it wasn't a problem but she was unconvinced.

Ash reached out to her, but he was totally clueless of what to say.

Brock looked at her like a dear caught in the headlights, then he thought for a moment.

He led Ash and Hikari to the Grocery department and found a small section containing unpasturized Miltank milk.

Pasturized miltank milk was quite common. It was the number one source of dairy in most people's diets. Ash had it on his cereal every morning. However unpasturized Miltank milk is only used by pregnant mothers. It even has a warning on the carton. Brock hesitated for a moment but then reasoned that at least this was perfectly healthy and wouldn't do any permanent damage. It would probably just make her chest swell a little.

He showed Hikari the directions on the carton. She beamed with excitement, feeling that a severe problem had been solved.

Brock knew he was going to regret this.

Watching this exchange made Ash feel helpless. He realized that he knew next to nothing about being a Dad.

Soon after he excused himself and went off to make a phone call. Ash decided he needed some fatherly advice. Brock thought this was a good idea. It would be embarrassing for Ash, but at least he would finally be set straight about where babies come from.

He went into the video-phone booth and dialled the number.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxx

Far away at the secret base of the nefarious team rocket, Giovanni sat behind his mahogany desk. In one hand was a fine cigar; in the other was a pen. While furiously doing paperwork he also answered calls over a headset attached to his ear.

"You heard me. Pay Butches bail in full. …Yes I know he failed but I need him to search for that egg. We have very few resources in Sinnou. Hold on I have a call on another line."

"Hello. … Oh it's you. … Really, your stupidity astounds me. … I don't care about some twerps Pikachu. Find the egg. … Really, are you serious? … You spotted the twerps taking a Pelliper to a pokemon center, and now there is an egg in there possession. … James, get that egg. Do this and you will be redeemed for your many past failures. … Hold on I have another call."

"Hello. … No I don't want to change long distance carriers."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mean-while in Pallet town.

Professor Oak pushed a giant muck off of his person, and answered his phone.

"Hello Ash. Good to hear from you my boy."

"Hi professor."

Oak was surprised by the seriousness of Ash's expression, and it was odd of him to call on a weekend. He asked "Is something the matter."

Ash hesitated. He felt that telling the professor meant there was no going back. He reminded himself that his responsibilities existed whether he talked or didn't.

"Professor, this is really big, and important."

"Okay, well remember I'm always there to help you Ash. Please."

CLICK

There was a sudden click on the line and the picture went static for a moment. They were still connected so Oak and Ash both shrugged it off.

Ash decided to just come out with it. He took a big breath and spoke: "Last night I was in a cave and a Pelliper brought us an egg for Hikari and me."

Samuel Oak practically leapt off his feet in surprise. His brilliant mind rushed with concerns. He immediately thought of the robbery at professor Rowans' lab. It was all over the news and the professor had contacted him personally that very morning. Oak knew that the perpetrator was captured but a Pelliper got away with the egg. Celedon, where Ash was calling from, was only two towns away from the lab. Having that egg meant Team Rocket would target Ash. The click on the line… Was the phone being tapped? Ash is in great danger. Poor kid, somehow he's always at the center in matters of great peril concerning pokemon. I should tell him to go to the police. No, the line is tapped, it's too dangerous. I can't involve Ash any further, but he is already involved. Should I tell him to discard the egg? No, it's a baby pokemon. I can't do it. Forgive me Ash it seems your in trouble yet again.

"Ash, I can't say much over the video-phone. Please protect that egg. Team Rocket is after it. I'm coming to Sinnou."

The professor abruptly ended the call. Ash was shocked. Stealing newborn babies seemed low even for Team Rocket. He rushed back to his friends, knowing they were all safer together.

Ash was relieved to find that his friends were just as he had left them.

Hikari was cradling their egg while downing her third carton of Miltank milk.

Brock asked how the call went and Ash told him Professor Oak would come personally to help with the birth of his child.

At this point Brock started bashing his head against the wall.

Author Notes:

I've always wondered about Ash's parentage. Normally I wouldn't care. Teens in anime hardly ever seem to have parents around anyway. I remember hearing that in the 2000 Pokemon Live musical, Giovanni turned out to be Ash's Father. That just can't be true. In Mewtwo Returns Giovanni didn't recognize Ash even after they confronted each other in the musical. Also in Episode 2 Deliah says that Ash is the apple of his father's eye. This indicates that his mom and dad are on speaking terms. I figure there are 3 real possibilities:

Professor Oak is Ash's father. He was married to another woman when Ash was born. As a famous pokemon poet the scandal would have created an unhealthy environment for baby Ash if he went public. He secretly provides child support to Deliah which is why she doesn't seem to need a job. Also his regret is the reason he seems more interested in Ash than his grandson Gary.

Ash was an experiment Deliah Ketchum stole from Team Rocket. He has Pikachu DNA. When Ash went to get his starter pokemon in episode 1, Professor Oak wasn't really out of the regular starter pokemon; he just wanted to see how Ash would get along with his biological brother. One day Ash will learn to do electric attacks without a pokemon.

It's a character we've never met.

As you can see I've thought about this way too much.

I didn't mean to make fun of Hikari too much, but this chapter seemed a little light on comedy compared to the previous.


	3. Father or Farfetch'd

Chapter 3

Father or Farfetch'd

"Hey Ash, What do you think of Gary for a boy."

"Pass!"

Ash rejected that name faster than she had expected. That was okay though. Hikari didn't really want to name her baby Gary anyway. She just figured she would drop a few stupid names so that Ash would be more open minded about the names she really liked. Fern, Emily, and Megumi; they all sounded so cute.

Hikari hugged her egg and giddily rolled around on the poke-center bed. Then she quickly grabbed the baby book and looked for another bad name.

Brock downed his third glass, and demanded a fourth. He stammered like a drunk, which was surprising because he was only drinking oran berry juice. All he had to be drunk on were antioxidants and omega 3 oils.

"Let's go to the library, I tell them. We'll get some books about babies."

Yes that morning Brock led Ash and Hikari to the Celedon City library. It was the perfect plan.

On the same street as Hikari's next contest arena, and only two buildings down from a burger joint Ash wanted to try was the Celedon City library.

It was a humongous building, quaint and Victorian, with Aerodactyl gargoyles on the roof, and much friendlier statues of pokemon leading to an Oak doorway. The Celedon library was out of place in such a modern city, yet in a way that piqued the curiosity of the average passerby.

Playing it cool in a nervous rehearsed sort of way, Brock turned to his friends and said: "Let's go to the library. We'll get some books about babies."

Ash thought about it for a second. It sounded boring, but he had to admit he didn't really know anything about babies. Unsure what to do he turned his head and gave a pleading glance to his partner and best friend. Pikachu responded with a "Pika-pi," which he took to mean visit the library. Hikari quickly took another chug of miltank milk, then nodded her head to Brock. She had a white milk mustache and her cheeks were stuffed, but a smile and a nod showed that she meant to follow along.

As they opened the door a crack the smell of musty books and coffee bombarded there senses. Brock almost hesitated due to the sudden change in atmosphere as they entered the library. Though not an avid reader, Ash was impressed by the interior. Book shelves were packed so tightly together that there was barely any walking space. These shelves completely filled the 400 square foot room and were themselves overflowing. He wondered if it was like this for all six of the buildings floors.

Brock passed the new releases shelves and a pair of massive stone columns walking straight to the reception desk.

At the desk sat two librarians. One was a woman with long red hair. She wore glasses and a stylish pantsuit. The Other was a man with a bob of purple hair, glasses and a suit with a nerdy bow-tie.

"Hello said Brock. My friends and I are on a pokemon journey, but we could use a temporary library card."

"Of course," said the man as he pretended to type on his computer.

"Is their anything particular you're looking for," asked the woman.

"We need books about babies," said Hikari with great cheer.

"Babies eh!", peeked the librarian in the bow-tie. "We have plenty for you little missy." Seemingly from out of nowhere he picked up a huge stack of books and dumped them in front of the trio. "We got "The Big Book of Baby Names, Dr. Spocks guide to child rearing, Oh No! My Baby won't stop crying, Babies for Dummies, The No Cry Sleep Solution..."

"Do you have anything about making babies?" Brock interrupted.

"Those kinds of books are kept in a curtained off room for people over eighteen." The librarian said with disdain.

"No! No!" Said Brock, waving his arms around in embarrassment. I mean books about the anatomy and biology of making babies.

The librarian in the bow-tie turned red with embarrassment but was preparing to respond when the red haired librarian cut him off.

"I'll gladly lead you all to the red curtain room. Just leave your egg here with my associate."

"Hey!" yelled Hikari, trying not to spit up any milk as she spoke. "Why do we have to leave our egg."

"Um, there's an age limit on the red curtained room."

Seeing that this conversation was going nowhere, Brock took the purple haired librarian aside and whispered to him, while Hikari continued to argue with the red head.

"Look mister, I'm sorry if we got off on the wrong foot," Brock apologized, "but I could really use your help. You see, those two friends of mine actually believe that they're having a baby. I'm not looking for a dirty book just something, anything, that will prove to them that human beings don't hatch from eggs."

The librarian blushed furiously. If he had been trained to work in a library, had experience working in a library, taken a course in library sciences, or even received sex education from someone other than Meowth, he might have known a mature and dignified way to handle Brocks request. Unfortunately he was James of Team Rocket in disguise. He looked at Hikari's youthful exuberance as she screamed at Jesse while strangling her empty milk carton. He looked at Ashes confused expression as he skimmed books trying to find a correlation between raising children and training pokemon. Could he, James, destroy that innocence?

Not sure what to do he tapped Jesse on the shoulder and pulled her aside. "What are you doing," Jesse demanded, "can't you see I'm busy"

James whispered into her ear explaining the situation.

Jesse went silent. Hikari continued to argue while Jesse stood stationary, her mind trying to process what she had just been told.

Suddenly her silence was broken by a deep, roaring, belly clenching laughter. Jesse broke out into hysterics.

Hikari demanded to know why she was laughing. Jesse tried to talk but could not stop laughing. When they turned to James he blushed furiously and was too nervous to form a sentence.

The laughter continued for awhile then calmed down, but just as she tried to speak Jesse found herself laughing again.

Soon Jesse forced herself to calm down, to regain her composure, but just as she was about to speak she was interrupted by a loud "Pi-Pika-Pi" and the noise of a screeching Meowth.

Pikachu had wondered around the Librarians desk and stumbled onto Meowth just as he was laminating Brocks new library card. Not wanting to blow there cover Meowth immediately grabbed Pikachu in an attempt to silence the rodent. Unfortunately he forgot about the thunder-shock attack.

Ash ran around the kiosk and seeing the unconscious Meowth he immediately put the pieces together in his mind. "Team Rocket!" he declared, pointing at the librarians.

They immediately tore away there costumes to reveal Team Rocket uniforms. James tried to move into the motto but Jesse kept snorting and giggling.

As usual a pokemon battle ensued. However this battle ended differently from there usual battles. Sure by the end Team Rocket was blasting off again. The difference was that they were not praised as heroes for driving away the obnoxious menace. Ash, Brock, and Hikari are now banned from the Celedon library.

You see, during the battle, a stray lightning bolt destroyed everything inside a room hidden by a red curtain. Officer Jenny was surprisingly furious. Somehow no one noticed that they still had all the books James had handed them, and not one had a word on where babies really come from.

Now Brock sat on a stool in the Pokemon Center juice bar screaming his frustrations at anyone who would listen.

Brock turned his head and discovered that someone actually was listening.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Earlier that day.

Butch entered the Pokemon center. He was sopping wet from the rain outside. True to character he never bothered to wipe his feet but walked purposefully toward the reception desk.

He rubbed some fake tears into his eye, took a picture of Peliper from his trench coat and turned to Nurse Joy.

"Have you seen my lost Peliper. I am ever so worried."

Nurse Joy looked at the picture. She recognized the Peliper immediately. She escorted Butch to the room where the pokemon was being kept.

Nurse Joy smiled. "There he is," she said pointing to a bed where Peliper slept. "All his injuries have been treated, but he could use some more rest."

"Oh thank you. Uh...I would also like to thank the people who brought my sweet Peliper here."

"They phoned to ask about Peliper this morning. They are at the Celedon Pokemon Center."

"Great, Now Out'a my way doll." Butch pushed Nurse Joy aside then put Peliper in his pokeball and ran off.

"Oh Hikari," Brock called. "There's someone here who would like to talk to you."

Soon they were greeted by Zoey. Zoey was Hikari's friend and rival. She met Brock in the juice bar.

"Hey Hikari", Zoey chimed. "Brock told me that a Peliper brought you an egg."

"Oh it's only the most beautiful egg ever. Come on, I'lll show it to you."

This is perfect, Brock thought. She'll try to be tactful, but Zoey will tell Hikari that no Human's are going to Hatch from that egg. Why didn't he think of this sooner. Brock left them alone. As he turned to take off someone bumped into him.

"You," Brock exclaimed. "What are you doing here."

"This is a public Pokemon Center he answered in the rudest voice possible."

The egg was swaddled in blankets and lying on top of a heating duct. Ash would feel from time to time to make sure the blankets were warm, but not warm enough to cook the egg.

Zoey asked to touch it. She was impressed by how well the egg was being cared for.

"Hikari, Brock says that your preparing to have a child."

"Yeah. Pretty amazing isn't it. I never would have thought I was ready for something like this, but here she is.

"He," Ash corrected.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Butch lurked in the forest outside.

From his trench-coat he took a pokeball and released Peliper.

Peliper looked upward. He was happy to see his master again, which only proves that the bird was still stoned from its medication.

"Listen you dumb bird. It is late and those kiddies are probably asleep by now."

Peliper was having trouble staying awake itself.

Butch held out a Qualot egg that he bought from a nearby nursery.

"I want you to go in there and switch the egg those twerps have with this useless egg. There's no telling who those twerps have been talking to, so I don't want them to know that I'm swiping it back."

Peliper wondered why it was seeing double.

Paul had overheard most of Zoey's conversation with Ash and Hikari. He could not contain himself anymore.

"Hey loser, I guess you'll have to drop out of the Sinoh league on account of you'll be too busy changing diapers. Hah ha ha."

Everyone looked at Paul, there eyes burning with contempt.

They all stood at least eight paces away from him.

All of a sudden a Peliper flew into the room. Everyone stared at the creature in surprise. It zigzagged a few times, then landed on a bed right next to where Paul was standing. Then the Peliper looked directly at Paul with a dazed expression and it yawned.

Everyone gasped in surprise. There was another egg.

"No, wait," Paul stuttered. "It wouldn't. I'm not paired up with anyone."

What does he mean not paired up? Brock and Zoey wondered. Does he believe that people come from Pelipers?

"It's a mistake. It has to be a mistake", Paul rambled. "I can't be the father."

While Brock was frozen in indecision, Zoey took on a wicked grin. This is going to be fun she thought.

She walked up to Paul and hugged his arm. "Darling" she cooed.


End file.
